Anesthesia Coding Alert

Every practice has questions about financial arrangements — and enforcement regulations — during the time of COVID-19. Now you can get answers straight from the feds in the form of daily FAQs.

On April 23, the HHS Office of Inspector General (OIG) announced it would field Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS) and Civil Monetary Penalty Law (CMPL) questions and post updates in a frequently-asked-questions forum. Updates are frequent and offer insight into the feds’ COVID-19 relief efforts and enforcement. The “informal feedback” is not the same as an advisory opinion, but interested parties are invited to request those, too, OIG indicates.

There’s more: Plus, the federal watchdog reminds that advice and opinions aren’t “binding,” and “any favorable answer will not result in prospective immunity or protection from OIG administrative sanctions or prospective immunity or protection under Federal criminal law,” the FAQs’ guidance warns.

Resource: Read the FAQs, submit questions, or request an advisory opinion at https://oig.hhs.gov/coronavirus/authorities-faq.asp.